Props May Miss Season Opener

Props May Miss Season Opener

Article excerpt

RUGBY LEAGUE: With Sam Thaiday battling a groin injury and Mitchell Dodds nursing a broken hand, Brisbane's front-row stocks are looking a little shaky for its NRL season-opening blockbuster against the Cowboys.

Dodds is a contender to be the bench back-up for props Ben Hannant and Thaiday at the March 11 showdown, which may attract a 50,000-strong crowd at Suncorp Stadium given record ticket sales earlier this week.

But Thaiday, who has been receiving treatment for the painful groin condition osteitis pubis, and Dodds are under injury clouds.

Coach Ivan Henjak said yesterday: aI haven't spoken to the specialist but Mitchell might still be right for game one.a

Henjak will take 19 players to Alice Springs tomorrow for a pre-season trial against the Cowboys on Saturday.

Henjak said that Thaiday, who has been on a special training program for almost a month, could get some match time in Brisbane's final pre-season trial on Saturday week, against Melbourne at Redcliffe, or go straight into the Cowboys' clash without a warm-up game. …